Contact lens packaging methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for producing packaged contact lenses are described. A stock product that includes a contact lens located in a contact lens packaging solution in a sealed contact lens package is provided. The stock product has one or more printing surfaces. The stock product is directed to a labeling station to produce a customer-tailored labeled product. The labeled product includes printed customer-specific indicia directly on the printing surface of the stock product. Manufacturing systems that include such labeling stations are also described. Utilizing the present methods and systems, contact lenses are labeled and supplied to different customers based on customer requirements.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to methods of producing packagedcontact lenses and related systems, as well as contact lens packagesproduced with the present methods and systems.

BACKGROUND

Some contact lens manufacturers supply their contact lenses to privatelabel contact lens companies that market the contact lenses so suppliedunder their own brand, or market contact lenses under different tradenames in different countries or regions. Many contact lenses areprovided by contact lens manufacturers in plastic contact lens blisterpackages, which include a relatively rigid plastic base member having acavity containing an unworn contact lens in a contact lens packagingsolution, and a relatively more flexible sealing foil attached to theplastic base member to seal the unworn contact lens and packaging liquidin the cavity. Multiple contact lens blister packages are then providedin a box or carton. Boxes of packaged contact lenses produced for aprivate label contact lens company or a particular market includegeneric unlabeled exterior surfaces to which an adhesive label isapplied, and the adhesive label has information specific for the privatelabel contact lens company or the market printed thereon.

SUMMARY

New methods and systems of producing packaged contact lenses aredescribed, in addition to new labeled contact lens packages obtainedfrom the methods and systems. The present methods and systems areeffective in providing customer-specific information on a surface of astock product in a more desirable way than currently provided withadhesive labels. As described herein, the customer-specific informationor indicia can comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of,information specific to a private label contact lens company, orinformation specific to a particular country or marketing region, orcombinations thereof.

In accordance with the present disclosure, a method of producingpackaged contact lenses comprises providing a stock product. The stockproduct comprises a contact lens located in a contact lens packagingsolution in a sealed contact lens package (e.g., a primary package), anda printing surface. The method also comprises directing the stockproduct to a labeling station. The stock product is directed through thelabeling station to produce a customer-tailored labeled productcomprising printed customer-specific indicia directly on the stockproduct printing surface.

In certain examples, a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer is used to printthe printing surface with ink. In addition, if the ink is ultraviolet(UV) curable, the printed surface is exposed to UV radiation to cure theink on the printing surface. The stock product directed through thelabeling station may be one or more contact lens primary packages, suchas a single sealed contact lens blister package, or an array of aplurality of sealed contact lens blister packages; or the stock productmay be one or more contact lens secondary packages, such as cartonscontaining a plurality of sealed contact lens blister packages, or thestock product may be one or more contact lens tertiary packagescontaining a plurality of contact lens secondary packages containingsealed contact lens blister packages. The customer-specific indicia maybe provided on the stock product before sterilization of the stockproduct or after sterilization of the stock product, or both.

Secondary and tertiary contact lens packages produced with the presentmethods are also described and within the scope of the presentinvention.

Systems for practicing the present methods are also described and withinthe scope of the present invention.

Additional features of the present invention can be understood inreference to the accompanying claims.

Additional embodiments of the present methods, systems, and packageswill be apparent from the following description, drawings, and claims.As can be appreciated from the foregoing and following description, eachand every feature described herein, and each and every combination oftwo or more of such features, is included within the scope of thepresent invention provided that the features included in such acombination are not mutually inconsistent. In addition, any feature orcombination of features may be specifically excluded from any embodimentof the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stock product, which is an unsealedcontact lens blister package (primary package) containing a contactlens.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stock product, which is a sealedcontact lens blister package similar to that of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a stock product, which is an array of aplurality of sealed contact lens blister packages, each blister packagecontaining a single contact lens.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a stock product, which is an assembledcarton (secondary package) containing a plurality of sealed contact lenspackages.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an illustration of an inventory of aplurality of stock products, which is in this figure, a plurality of thestock products of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a labeling station through which a stockproduct is directed to produce a customer-tailored labeled product.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a customer-tailored product, which is asealed contact lens blister package similar to FIG. 2, but bearingcustomer-specific indicia.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a customer-tailored product, which is anarray of a plurality of sealed contact lens blister package similar toFIG. 3, but bearing customer-specific indicia.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a customer-tailored product, which is anassembled carton (secondary package) containing a plurality of sealedcontact lens packages similar to FIG. 4, but bearing customer-specificindicia.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of an example of the present methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

New methods and systems for producing packaged contact lenses aredescribed herein. Unlike existing methods, with the present methods andsystems, new contact lens packages containing contact lenses areproduced, and it is possible to simplify inventory requirements in acontact lens manufacturing environment, which can provide significantbenefits in the manufacture of private label contact lens products,among other things.

The present methods and systems are effective in providingcustomer-specific information on stock products. In accordance with thepresent disclosure, a stock product can be understood to be a singlesealed contact lens blister package; multiple sealed contact lensblister packages coupled together, such as an array of contact lensblister packages; or an assembled carton containing one or more sealedcontact lens blister packages; or an assembled box containing one ormore assembled cartons containing one or more sealed contact lensblister packages. In addition, the stock product can be understood to bea sealed glass vial containing a contact lens, an assembled cartoncontaining one or more sealed glass vials containing contact lenses, oran assembled box containing one or more assembled cartons containing oneor more sealed glass vials containing contact lenses. As used herein,the terms carton and box are used interchangeably. Thus, a stockproduct, as used herein, is an apparatus that comprises an unworncontact lens located in a contact lens packaging solution in a sealedcontact lens package. As described in further detail, the stock productcan be a contact lens primary package (e.g., a single sealed blisterpackage, or an array of a plurality of sealed blister packages) or acontact lens secondary package (e.g., a carton containing a plurality ofsealed contact lens blister packages). In some methods, the stockproduct can be a contact lens tertiary package (e.g., a cartoncontaining one or more contact lens secondary packages). The presentmethods and systems are effective in providing customer-specificinformation on fully assembled stock products, such as on sealed contactlens blister packages or assembled cartons containing sealed contactlens blister packages.

FIG. 1 illustrates an unsealed contact lens blister package, which is acomponent of a stock product 10. Thus, the stock product 10 comprises abase member 11. The base member 11 has a cavity 13 dimensioned to retainan unworn contact lens 12 in a contact lens packaging solution (notillustrated). The base member 11 also has a thumb-grippable region 15suitable for a person to hold the base member 11 between a thumb andfinger during the removal of a sealing element, or removal of thecontact lens 12, or both.

FIG. 2 illustrates a stock product 10, which is a single sealed contactlens package 14. A sealing element or sealing member is disposed overthe cavity 13 of the blister package. The sealing element provides aprinting surface 16 to the stock product. As shown in FIG. 2, and asdescribed in more detail herein, the stock product 10 may optionallycomprise a lot identifier 17 provided on the printing surface 16.Alternatively, the lot identifier can be printed on another surface ofthe stock product, such as, for example, on an exterior surface of theblister package. The lot identifier 17 is illustrated as a conventionalbar code for purposes of illustration. However, the lot identifier 17can be another type of machine readable tag, such as a radio frequencyidentification tag, or can include text and numbers useful to a contactlens manufacturer or distributor to identify the lot from which thecontact lens came, among other things.

FIG. 3 illustrates a stock product 20. Stock product 20 is an array of aplurality of sealed contact lens blister packages 24. The stock product20 has a printing surface 26 provided by a sealing element disposed overthe array of contact lens blister packages 24. As illustrated, thesealing element is provided as a single sheet that is fixed to thecontact lens blister packages. A perforation line in the sealing elementis provided between two adjacent contact lens blister packages tofacilitate separation of one sealed contact lens blister package fromthe array without disrupting the seal provided by the sealing element.The sealing element of the contact lens blister package(s) is typicallya laminated sheet that includes a meltable layer to hermetically sealthe contact lens and packaging solution in the cavity of the blisterpackage, such that the contact lens and packaging solution can besterilized by autoclaving without rupturing the seal, and a metal layer.The sealing elements may be referred to as sealing foils. Although thearray of contact lens blister packages illustrated in FIG. 3 consists offive individual contact lens blister packages, the array of contact lensblister packages described herein can be less than or greater than fiveblister packages. For example, an array of sealed contact lens blisterpackages can consist of two blister packages, three blister packages,four blister packages, six blister packages, fifteen blister packages,thirty blister packages, or ninety blister packages, among others.

FIG. 4 illustrates a stock product 30. Illustrated stock product 30 isan assembled carton 34 containing a plurality of sealed contact lensblister packages. For example, the assembled carton 34 may contain two,three, four, five, six, ten, twelve, fifteen, twenty, thirty, or ninetysealed contact lens blister packages, which may be present in one ormore arrays, or packaged individually. Another stock product 30 may bean assembled carton containing a single sealed contact lens blisterpackage. The stock product 30 has a printing surface 36. Printingsurface 36 is illustrated as being the top exterior surface of thecarton. The illustrated stock product 30 has a plurality of printingsurfaces, four of which are shown (36, 36 a, 36 b, and 36 c), and two ofwhich are not shown. A lot identifier 37 is illustrated on printingsurface 36 a, and as described above with respect to lot identifier 17,it can comprise machine readable information, or manually readableinformation, such as text and numbers. Lot identifier 37 is illustratedas a conventional bar code. It is also understood that lot identifier 37is an optional component of stock product 30, and that if provided, lotidentifier 37 can be provided on any of the surfaces of the stockproduct 30. The dotted line portion of the stock product 30 illustratedin FIG. 4, and other figures, illustrates a portion of the carton thatcan be used to open the carton, and close the carton by engaging a tabmember in a slot.

FIG. 5 illustrates an inventory 40 of stock products. Specifically, theinventory 40 illustrated in FIG. 5 consists of three assembled cartons,as shown in FIG. 4. However, in accordance with the present disclosure,the inventory of stock products can be any number from one to onehundred, to one thousand, or more. In addition, the inventory canconsist of sealed contact lens packages (primary packages) that are notpresent in assembled cartons, assembled contact lens cartons (secondarypackages), or combinations thereof.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a labeling station 50. The labeling station50 is configured to receive one or more stock products 30 and directthem through the labeling station 50 to produce a customer-tailoredlabeled product 38. A through-path 52 is provided in the labelingstation. The stock products 30 can be directed along the through-path 52via any suitable mechanism, such as a conveyor system, which may includea conveyor belt or other automated transport assembly. One or moreproduct stoppers, separators, or gates may be provided along theconveyor to provide time delays to facilitate product separation orproduct verification, as desired by the contact lens package labeler. Inaddition, the infeed portion of the labeling station 50 may include acleaning device, such as a wiper or brush, or vacuum, to remove debrisfrom the printing surface of the stock product. The stock products canbe manually or automatedly loaded into the infeed portion of thelabeling station 50, where the conveyor system can direct the stockproducts through the labeling station along the through-path 52.

The labeling station 50 also includes one or more printing devices 54.The printing device comprises one or more printing heads which areeffective in forming indicia on the printing surface 36 of the stockproduct 30. The printing heads may be stationary and located anappropriate distance from the printing surface 36 in order tosatisfactorily form the indicia on the printing surface 36.Alternatively, the printing heads may be moveable such that they canmove into a suitable printing position to form the indicia on theprinting surface. For example, the printing heads can by moveable toallow for printing on different types of stock products such as blisterpackages, cartons or boxes, or to allow for printing on differentsurfaces of a stock product, such as the different surfaces of a cartonor box.

The printing device(s) 54 may be a laser printer. Or, the printingdevice(s) 54 may be an ink-jet printer, such as a continuous ink-jetsystem or a cartridge-based ink-jet system. One example of a printingdevice 54 includes a thermal ink-jet printer. In another particularexample, the printing device 54 is a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer, orcan comprise a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer. The printing device(s) 54may also include a curing or drying element to cure or dry ink appliedby an ink-jet printer, or the curing or drying element may be providedwithin the labeling station as a separate element from the printingdevice(s) 54 to cure or dry the ink after it is applied to the printingsurface. In one example, the curing element emits ultraviolet (UV)radiation to provide the desired curing.

In a specific example of the present methods and systems, adrop-on-demand ink-jet system provided with a UV curing system is usedto print the customer-specific indicia on the stock products. Theseprinting systems comprise an ink reservoir containing a LTV curable ink,an ink chamber having a piezoelectric actuator, and a nozzle.Deformation of the piezoelectric actuator causes ink to be ejected fromthe nozzle to form a droplet targeted toward the printing surface of thestock product. One benefit of using these systems is that solvents arenot required, which can help reduce maintenance issues associated withsolvent-based systems.

In another specific example of the present methods and systems, thedrop-on-demand ink-jet system with a UV curing system is used to printcustomer-specific indicia on a contact lens secondary package, such asan assembled carton comprising a plurality of sealed contact lensblister packages. Such methods may comprise a step of maintaining theprinting surface in substantially a single plane so that the desiredindicia are properly printed on the printing surface. In addition, suchmethods may comprise a step of printing the customer-specific indicia onthe printing surface of the stock product without damaging the secondarypackage. Such methods may optionally comprise a step of overprinting thecustomer-specific indicia on the printing surface of the stock productto cover other existing indicia. The other existing indicia can comprisea lot identifier, or can comprise other customer-specific indicia.

With the present drop-on-demand printing systems, it is possible toprint the customer-specific indicia in color (or black and white ifdesired) at a resolution up to about 720 dots per inch (dpi) with printspeeds of up to about 27 meters/minute. In other examples, differentresolutions and print speeds are used depending on the desired printedtext and image quality.

Suitable drop-on-demand printing systems useful in the present methodsand systems can be obtained from companies, such as Napa AG(Switzerland), CSAT (Germany), or Atlantic Zeiser (Germany).

As shown in FIG. 7, a customer-tailored product 18 may be a singlesealed contact lens blister pack comprising customer-specific indicia 19on the printing surface of the product. The customer-specific indicia 19may comprise text, numbers, graphics, and the like as discussed herein.For purposes of illustration, the customer-specific indicia 19 isillustrated as text, for example the letters “A B C” and the numbers “12 3”.

FIG. 8 illustrates a customer-tailored product 28 that comprises aprinting surface 6 comprising customer-specific indicia 29 providedthereon. For purposes of illustration, the customer-specific indicia 29is illustrated as the letters “A B C” and the numbers “1 2 3”. Thecustomer-specific indicia 29 may span the entire length of the array ofblister packs, and accordingly, cross the perforations in the sealingelement between adjacent blister packs, or the customer specific indicia29 may be limited to dimensions such that the indicia is confined to theprinting surface 26 only overlying a single blister pack. Thecustomer-specific indicia 29 may also be repeated on the portions of thesealing element overlying the plurality of individual blister packs.

FIG. 9 illustrates a customer-tailored product 38. The customer-tailoredproduct 38 is a carton and comprises a printing surface 36, as describedherein. Customer-specific indicia is formed on the printing surface 36and can comprise text, such as “A B C”, numbers; such as “1 2 3”;graphical images, such as the image of a contact lens illustrated inFIG. 9; or combinations thereof.

It can be appreciated that the indicia illustrated on the printingsurfaces of the stock products shown in the drawings are provided forpurposes of illustration only. The actual customer-specific indicia willlikely be different, and will depend on the desires or requirements ofthe customer ordering the products.

The contact lenses packaged in accordance with the present methods arepolymerized from a polymerizable composition of lens formingingredients. The polymerizable composition can also be understood to bea contact lens formulation. Examples of lens forming ingredients includehydrophilic monomers, hydrophobic monomers, hydrophilic macromers,hydrophobic macromers, hydrophilic prepolymers, hydrophobic prepolymers,hydrophilic polymers, or hydrophobic polymers, or combinations thereof.If the contact lenses are silicone containing contact lenses, such assilicone hydrogel contact lenses, the lens forming ingredients caninclude one or more siloxanes in addition to the other ingredientsdescribed above. In addition, the polymerizable composition used to formthe present contact lenses can include cross-linkers, initiators,tinting agents, or UV blocking agents, or any combination thereof.Examples of hydrogel forming polymerizable compositions includecompositions having the following United States Adopted Names (USANs):etafilcon A, nelfilcon A, ocufilcon A, ocufilcon B, ocufilcon C,ocufilcon D, or omafilcon A. Examples of silicone hydrogel formingpolymerizable composition include compositions having the followingUSANs: acquafilcon A or aquafilcon A, balafilcon A, comfilcon A,enfilcon A, galyfilcon A, lenefilcon A, lotrafilcon A, lotrafilcon B,narafilcon A, or senofilcon A. Another hydrogel contact lens has amaterial name of filcon IV 1, and another silicone hydrogel contact lenshas a material name of filcon II 3.

The polymerizable composition is provided in a molding device. If thecontact lenses are lathed contact lenses, the polymerizable compositioncan be placed in a cylindrical mold or can be placed in a mold assemblyto form a contact lens blank. If the contact lenses are static castmolded contact lenses, the polymerizable composition can be placed in acontact lens mold assembly having a cavity having a general shape of thecontact lens to be obtained therefrom. The contact lens mold assembly isan assembly of a front surface mold section and a back surface moldsection. The front surface mold section has a concave lens formingsurface that will form the front convex surface of the contact lens. Theback surface mold section has a convex lens forming surface that willform the back concave surface of the contact lens. The front surfacemold section and the back surface mold section each have an opticalquality surface to form an optical quality surface on the contact lensobtained therefrom. The front surface mold section and the back surfacemold section are placed in contact with each other to define a lensshaped cavity. The polymerizable composition can be placed on theconcave lens forming surface of the front surface mold section, and theback surface mold section can be placed in contact with the frontsurface mold section to seal the polymerizable composition in the lensshaped cavity.

The molds containing the polymerizable composition are exposed toradiation to cause the polymerizable composition to polymerize. Examplesof radiation include heat, visible light, ultraviolet light, and thelike. If a lathed contact lens is desired, the polymerized productobtained from the cylindrical mold is in the shape of a rod, which canbe formed into one or more shorter segments, some times referred to aslens buttons, or from a mold assembly in the form of a lens blank havingone optical quality surface and a latheable opposing surface, which canthen be placed on a lathing machine and lathed into a contact lenshaving a desired optical design. If a cast molded contact lens isdesired, the polymerized product obtained from the contact lens moldassembly is substantially in the shape of the final contact lens, e.g.,the polymerized product has a convex optical quality front surface and aconcave optical quality back surface.

The unworn polymerized contact lens is separated from the moldingdevice, and the unworn polymerized contact lens is placed in a packagingsolution in a contact lens package. Optionally, the unworn polymerizedcontact lens can be washed to remove lens forming ingredients that havenot formed part of the polymeric matrix that forms the lens. The washingcan include contacting the polymerized contact lens with an aqueoussolution, an organic solvent-containing solution, or combinationsthereof. The washing can occur in washing stations or in the finalcontact lens package. In addition, prior to sealing the package, thepolymerized contact lens can be inspected for defects that would makethe contact lens unsuitable for placement on an eye of contact lenswearer. The contact lens package, as used herein, can be understood tobe a “primary package” since it is the device directly containing thecontact lens in the packaging solution, and it is the first sealablecontainer in which the contact lens is placed. The contact lens package,or primary package, can be a glass vial or it can be a plastic blisterpack. The contact lens packaging solution containing the unworn contactlens is typically a buffered saline solution, such as a phosphatebuffered saline solution or borate buffered saline solution, havingphysiologically acceptable properties, such as pH, tonicity, and thelike. Optionally, the contact lens packaging solution can contain one ormore surfactants, such as non-ionic surfactants, and the like, as wellas wetting agents, lubricity agents, and the like.

The contact lens package containing the contact lens and the packagingsolution is then sealed. After sealing the package, the packagecontaining the contact lens is sterilized, such as by autoclaving thepackage, or by exposing the package to ultraviolet radiation. Thesterilizing step can be performed on batches of contact lens packages orcan be performed as an in-line process as part of the manufacturing lineused to produce the contact lenses.

Once the primary packages are sterilized, they are placed in one or moresecondary packages. A secondary package is typically a box having acavity dimensioned to accommodate multiple primary packages, such as sixprimary packages, fifteen primary packages, thirty primary packages,ninety primary packages, and the like. As discussed herein, othernumbers or amounts of primary packages may be provided in the secondarypackage. A secondary package as used herein may also be understood to bea carton. A secondary package differs from a primary package in that thesecondary package does not have a cavity that is in direct contact withthe contact lens packaging solution, the secondary package contains morethan one contact lens (e.g., more than one contact lens in more than onecontact lens primary package), and the contact lenses are packaged in asecond step after being placed in a primary package.

One or more secondary packages are typically placed in a tertiarypackage, such as a box, so that the tertiary package containing thesecondary package(s) can be shipped to a customer, such as a contactlens distributor, contact lens retailer, eye care practitioner, and thelike. The customer may also be a private label contact lens company,that is a company that does not manufacture contact lenses, but sellscontact lenses produced by another contact lens company, such as acontact lens manufacturer, and sells the contact lenses under its ownbrand.

To keep track of which contact lenses are located in the sealed primarypackage, indicia are provided on the sealed primary package. In the caseof contact lens blister packs, the seal is typically formed with alaminated foil element that is heat pressed to a plastic base member ofthe contact lens blister package. The indicia can be provided on anadhesive label that can be adhered to the laminated foil element, or theindicia can be provided by using a laser to form indicia directly on thelaminated foil element (e.g., without an adhesive label), orcombinations thereof. The indicia provided on the laminated foil elementtypically includes lot specific information specific to the contact lenscontained in the package. En addition, the indicia provided on thelaminated foil element can include brand specific information, such asproduct names, product logos, manufacturer names, and the like. Brandspecific information for a particular contact lens manufacturer isfrequently pre-printed by a laminated foil supplier and then provided toa contact lens manufacturer. The indicia can be in the form of numbers,letters, graphical images, or machine readable code, such as bar codes,or combinations thereof. Lot specific indicia can include lot number,contact lens base curve, contact lens diameter, prescriptive power, orexpiration date, or combinations thereof. Brand specific information,which may be pre-printed on the sealing element, can include brand name,logo contact lens manufacturer information, or a description of packageingredients, or combinations thereof.

The secondary package frequently includes lot specific information, suchas the prescription of the contact lenses contained in the primarypackages provided therein, as well as brand specific information, suchas product names, product logos, manufacturer names, and the like. Manycontact lens manufacturers provide contact lenses marketed with thecontact lens manufacturer's name. In such cases, the brand specificinformation for a particular contact lens manufacturer is pre-printed onunassembled secondary packages by the secondary package supplier of thecontact lens manufacturer. The lot specific information is frequentlyprovided on an adhesive label, which is then applied to the assembledsecondary package.

Some contact lens manufacturers provide packaged contact lenses producedby the contact lens manufacturer to a “private label” contact lenscompany. The private label contact lens company provides contact lensesmanufactured by another company under the private label contact lenscompany's own brand. The secondary package containing one or moreprimary contact lens packages is a generic package comprising sixunlabelled exterior package surfaces. Frequently, these secondarypackages are boxes that have outer exterior surfaces that are a uniformcolor, for example, secondary packages have outer exterior surfaces thatare white. These private label secondary packages are provided with anadhesive label containing the private label contact lens company's brandspecific information. The adhesive label is printed with the privatelabel contact lens company product information and after being printed,the label is applied to the exterior surface of the private labelsecondary package by a contact lens manufacturer prior to delivering thepackages to the private label contact lens company. In a manufacturingenvironment, the contact lens manufacturer maintains an inventory ofprivate label packaged contact lenses to fulfill orders from the privatelabel contact lens company. When the contact lens manufacturer has manyprivate label contact lens company customers, maintaining the inventoryof the different packaged contact lenses and packaging materials becomesa significant challenge. In addition, the presence of an adhesive labelon the secondary packaging to provide brand information can be perceivedto be less aesthetically acceptable or elegant than pre-printedsecondary packaging used by contact lens manufacturers who providelenses under their own brand name(s).

With the present methods, it is possible for a contact lens manufacturerto reduce inventory amounts of private label packaged contact lenses andpackaging materials thereby simplifying administration of packagedcontact lens inventory and packaging materials inventory. In addition,it is possible to now provide private label packaged contact lenseswithout adhesive labels, for example, the present private label contactlens packages appear more similar to contact lens packages withpre-printed information. Since generic unlabelled stock products arerelatively less expensive than pre-printed labeled stock products,substantial cost savings can be realized by a contact lens packagingcompany utilizing the present methods and systems. In addition, with thepresent methods, it is possible to eliminate maintaining an inventory ofadhesive labels. The present methods may also reduce the time to delivernew customer-tailored products based on customer requirements ordemands.

A method of producing packaged contact lenses in accordance with thepresent invention is described with reference to FIG. 10. The method 100comprises a step of providing 102 a stock product. The stock productcomprises a contact lens located in a contact lens packaging solution ina sealed contact lens package. The stock product also comprises aprinting surface. Thus, the stock product, as used herein, refers to oneor more primary contact lens packages, or one or more secondary contactlens packages, as described above. The method also comprises a step ofdirecting 104 the stock product to a labeling station. At the labelingstation, a customer-tailored labeled product that comprises printedcustomer-specific indicia directly on the stock product printing surfaceis produced. In other words, the stock product is printed on itsprinting surface or printing surfaces with customer-specific indicia atthe labeling station. The resulting printed stock product can beunderstood to be a customer-tailored labeled product because the productnow includes labeling information specific to a specific customer. Forexample, a private label contact lens company may request a contact lensmanufacturer to provide certain brand information on the product so thatthe private label contact lens company can sell the contact lensesproduced by the contact lens manufacturer under the private labelcompany's own brand.

Unlike existing methods, instead of providing customer-specific indicia,such as private label contact lens company brand information, on anadhesive label that is printed and then adhered to an exterior surfaceof the stock product, with the present methods, customer-specificindicia is provided directly on a printing surface of the stock product,which is a fully assembled stock product (for example, one or moresealed contact lens blister packages, or one or more assembled cartons).That is, the customer-specific indicia are provided on a surface of thestock product without including an adhesive label on the stock product.However, in some methods, the stock product may include an adhesivelabel that contains other indicia, in addition to the customer-specificindicia provided directly on the stock product printing surface.

With the present methods and systems, a contact lens manufacturer canmaintain a single inventory of a single contact lens product that can beprovided to multiple different private label contact lens companies. Forexample, the contact lens manufacturer can maintain a single inventoryof a packaged contact lens in a generic secondary contact lens package.Upon receiving an order from a first private label contact lens company,the ordered amount of generic secondary contact lens packages can bedirected to the labeling station to be printed with indicia specific tothe first private label contact lens company. Upon receiving an orderform a second private label contact lens company for the same contactlenses, the ordered amount of generic secondary contact lens packagescan be directed to the labeling station to be printed with indiciaspecific to the second private label contact lens company.

The customer-specific indicia printed on the stock product printingsurface can include brand specific information, such as product names orbrand names, product logos, contact lens manufacturer name or otherinformation, or a description of package ingredients, or combinationsthereof. The customer-specific indicia can be in the form of numbers,letters, graphical images, or machine readable code, such as bar codes,or combinations thereof.

In addition, with the present methods, it is possible to print lotspecific indicia on the stock product, such as lot number, contact lensbase curve, contact lens diameter, prescriptive power, or expirationdate, or combinations thereof.

In one example, the stock product is a single sealed contact lensblister package, and the printing surface is an exterior surface of asealing member disposed over a cavity containing the contact lens. Asanother example, the stock product comprises more than one, that is aplurality, of sealed contact lens blister packages coupled together, andthe printing surface is an exterior surface of one sealing memberdisposed over each of the contact lens blister packages. The sealingmember can be a laminated foil element that is adhered to a plastic basemember of the contact lens blister package. When a single sealing memberis disposed over multiple contact lens blister packages, perforationscan be provided in the sealing member at a location overlaying thejuxtaposition of two adjacent contact lens blister packages.

In another example, the stock product is an assembled carton containinga plurality of sealed contact lens packages, and the printing surface isan exterior surface of the carton. The carton is understood to be acontact lens secondary package or contact lens tertiary package, asdescribed herein. The assembled carton can comprise six exteriorsurfaces, and a cavity containing the sealed contact lens packages isprovided in the interior of the carton. In one embodiment, each of thesix exterior surfaces consists of an unlabelled surface prior toprinting the customer-specific indicia on the printing surface of theassembled carton. Or, in other embodiments, one or more exteriorsurfaces may comprise one or more lot identifiers, and otherwise beunlabelled except for the lot identifier(s). In another embodiment, twoor more exterior surfaces of the carton are printed withcustomer-specific indicia. In a further embodiment, the assembled cartonmay comprise pre-printed generic indicia, such as information forregulatory agencies or descriptions of the contents of the carton. Insome embodiments, the printing surface of the assembled carton isvarnish-free.

The customer-specific indicia can be printed on the stock productprinting surface prior to sterilization of the contact lens in the stockproduct, after sterilization of the contact lens in the stock product,or both. For example, in some of the present methods, thecustomer-tailored labeled product is one or more sealed contact lensblister packages, and the method further comprises sterilizing thecustomer-tailored labeled product prior to placement in a carton. Insome methods, sterilized contact lens primary, packages are placed in acarton, and the carton, or secondary package, is printed with customerspecific indicia.

Any of the methods described herein may comprise one or more additionalsteps. For example, some methods may further comprise a step of creatingan inventory of a plurality of the stock products prior to directing thestock products to the labeling station.

In addition, methods may comprise receiving an order from a customer,such as a private label contact lens company, for an ordered number ofcustomer-tailored labeled products, and directing at least that numberof the corresponding stock products to the labeling station to producethe ordered number of customer-tailored labeled products. For example, aprivate label contact lens company may place an order for six thousandcontact lenses. The contact lens manufacturer receives that order fromthe private label contact lens company. The contact lenses are providedin sets of six contact lens primary packages located in a singlesecondary contact lens package. Accordingly, one thousand secondarycontact lens packages are to be provided by the contact lensmanufacturer to the private label contact lens company. The contact lensmanufacturer directs at least one thousand secondary contact lenspackages (e.g., the stock product) to the labeling station. Thesecondary contact lens packages can be obtained from an inventory ofsecondary contact lens packages, or can be produced based on thecustomer's order. Similarly, the tertiary packages can be obtained froman inventory of tertiary contact lens packages, or can be produced basedon the customer's order. It may be desirable to direct more than theordered amount of stock products to the labeling station to ensure thatat least the ordered amount are printed properly taking into account anyerrors in printing or further processing of the stock product orsubsequently labeled product.

Any of the preceding methods may also comprise a step of printing thecustomer-specific indicia directly on the stock product printingsurface. In some methods, the customer-specific indicia are laserprinted on the printing surface of the stock product. In some methods,the customer specific indicia are ink-jet printed directly on theprinting surface of the stock product.

In a method that comprises ink-jet printing the customer-specificindicia directly on the printing surface of the stock product, anothermethod may also comprise a step of curing the ink printed on theprinting surface by an ink-jet printer.

In certain examples, including the illustrated example described herein,the present methods comprise a step of printing the customer-specificindicia directly on the printing surface of the stock product with adrop on demand ink-jet printing apparatus.

Additional surface treatment steps may also be performed in the presentmethods to prepare the printing surface for printing by the printingdevice(s). For example, any of the preceding methods may additionallycomprise treating the printing surface of the stock product to make theprinted indicia appear clearer than on a printing surface that has notbeen so treated. Examples of suitable treatments include coronatreatments, or plasma treatments, or combinations thereof. In oneexample in which the indicia is printed on the printing surface using adrop on demand ink-jet printer apparatus, the method comprises exposingthe printing surface to a corona treatment, or a plasma treatment, orboth prior to printing the indicia thereon. The surface treatment canoccur at the labeling station, or can occur at a surface treatmentstation located “upstream” in the manufacturing line compared to thelabeling station.

In any of the present methods, the stock product may include a lotidentifier. In some examples, the methods comprise verifying the lotidentifier of the stock product, and selecting the customer-specificindicia to be printed on the printing surface based on the lotidentifier information.

Additionally, any of the preceding methods may also comprise providingcontact lens manufacturer-specific information on the customer-tailoredlabeled product. Examples of such information may include lotinformation, expiration date, a listing of package ingredients, such aslens material name, lens properties, and ingredients in the contact lenspackaging solution, or other regulatory information required byregulatory agencies, or combinations thereof.

In some examples of the present methods, the stock product may comprisea plurality of printing surfaces. For example, a secondary package mayhave from one to six printing surfaces. When a stock product comprises aplurality of printing surfaces, examples of the present methods may alsocomprise a step of rotating the stock product to print the indicia ondifferent printing surfaces. As an example, indicia may be printed on afirst printing surface of the stock product, and then the stock productcan be rotated and directed through the labeling station an additionaltime to print more indicia on a second printing surface of the stockproduct. In other methods, the labeling station can include a pluralityof printing devices oriented at different angles relative to stockproducts being printed such that indicia can be printed on more than oneprinting surface at the same time.

As described herein, the stock product used in any of the methods maycomprise a printing surface that is free of an adhesive label containingcustomer-specific indicia.

Any of the present methods may also comprise a step of verifying thatthe customer-specific indicia printed on the printing surface is correctbased on a customer's order for the customer-tailored labeled product.The verifying, can be performed manually, for example by a packageinspector, or can be performed in an automated manner by a packageinspection machine.

As one example of the present methods, a plurality of stock products isprovided. The stock products are cartons containing a plurality ofsealed contact lens packages. Each sealed contact lens package containsa contact lens in a contact lens packaging solution. Thus, the stockproducts can be understood to be secondary packages containing more thanone contact lens primary packages. The method comprises a step ofcreating an inventory of the plurality of stock products, in which eachof the stock products contains the same type of contact lens in eachpackage of the stock products. The method also comprises processing anorder received from a first customer of contact lenses, the customer,being a contact lens retailer or eye care practitioner. Additionally,the method comprises printing the customer-specific indicia on theprinting, surfaces of the stock products as the stock products passthrough the labeling station, and the customer-specific indicia isspecific for the first customer. The customer-tailored product soproduced is packaged in at least one package. This at least one packagecontaining the customer-tailored product can be understood to be atertiary package as described herein. The at least one package isshipped to the first customer. The method further comprises repeatingthe processing, printing, packaging, and shipping steps for at least oneadditional customer that is a contact lens retailer or eye carepractitioner, and in which the at least one additional customer hasordered the same type of contact lens but requires differentcustomer-specific indicia than the first customer. In some examples ofthese methods, the customers are private label contact lens companies.

As another example of the present methods, a plurality of stock productsis provided. Each stock product is an array of a plurality of sealedcontact lens packages containing contact lenses in a contact lenspackaging solution. In addition to the steps described above, themethods also comprise processing an order received from a first customerof contact lenses, in which the customer is a contact lens retailer.Customer-specific indicia are printed on the printing surfaces of thestock products as the stock products pass through the labeling station.The customer-specific indicia so printed are specific for the firstcustomer. For example, the customer-specific indicia includesinformation, such as text, logos, and the like, that the first customerhas requested or required, such as when the first customer placed theorder. The customer-tailored labeled products are sterilized, that is,after the indicia are printed on the printing surfaces. The sterilizedcustomer-tailored labeled products are then packaged in at least onecarton (e.g., the secondary package). The at least one carton is thenpackaged in at least one package (e.g. the tertiary package). Thecustomer-tailored labeled products so packaged are than shipped to thefirst customer. The method further includes one or more steps ofrepeating the processing, printing, packaging, and shipping steps for atleast one additional customer that is a contact lens retailer, whereinthe at least one additional customer has ordered the same contact lenstype but requires different customer-specific indicia than the firstcustomer.

In the method of the preceding paragraph, the method may also comprise astep of directing the at least one carton to a labeling station toproduce a customer-tailored product comprising customer-specific indiciadirectly on a printing surface of the at least one carton, in which thecustomer-specific indicia is for the first customer. In other words, thecustomer-specific indicia required by the first customer are providedboth on the primary packages and the secondary packages produced by themethods.

One example of the present methods employs using a drop-on-demandink-jet printer device to provide customer-specific indicia on one ormore stock products. In such a method, the stock product is selectedfrom an inventory of a plurality of stock products. The selected stockproduct(s) is then directed through the labeling station and ispresented to the drop-on-demand printing device. The stock product isautomatedly scanned and automatically matched to the customer's ordervia an order control system. A printer control system contains thecustomer's pre-defined artwork format templates, which are based on thecustomer's desires or requirements. The printer control system receivesan instruction from the order control system indicating which templatesshould be printed on the stock product to produce the customer-tailoredproduct. If a stock keeping unit (SKU) identifier is provided on thestock product, it can be covered or obliterated on the customer-tailoredproduct by passing through the labeling station.

Another example of the present methods comprises providing a polymerizedcontact lens in a contact lens packaging solution in a cavity of acontact lens primary package. The contact lens primary package is sealedwith a sealing element such that the contact lens and packaging solutioncan be sterilized by autoclaving the package by exposing it to steam ata temperature of at least 120 degrees C. for at least 1 minutes withoutrupturing the seal. The sterilized sealed contact lens primary packagecan, optionally, then be directed through a labeling station where adrop-on-demand ink-jet printer dispenses a UV curable ink onto aprinting surface of the sealed contact lens primary package. The printedor un-printed sterilized sealed contact lens package is then placed in acontact lens secondary package that comprises six adhesive-label-freesurfaces. Multiple contact lens secondary packages are then stored ininventory. One or more contact lens secondary packages, containing thesterilized sealed contact lens primary packages, are selected frominventory and directed through a labeling station such that adrop-on-demand ink-jet printer prints customer-specific indicia on oneor more printing surfaces of the secondary package(s). The ink is curedby exposing the ink to UV radiation. The customer-tailored contact lensproducts so produced are then packaged in a tertiary package fordelivery to a customer, such as a private label contact lens company.

Yet another example of the present methods relates to packaging contactlenses and printing customer-specific indicia on a package as part ofthe packaging process. Such a method comprises placing one or morecontact lens primary packages (e.g. one or more sealed contact lensblister packages, each containing an individual unworn contact lens in acontact lens packaging solution) in a contact lens secondary package(e.g. a carton) at a cartoning station. The placement of the primarypackages in the secondary packages can be performed manually; however,it is preferred that it is performed using automated devices. At thecartoning station, the contact lens secondary package receives one ormore contact lens primary packages, and the contact lens secondarypackage is closed or sealed. In accordance with the present methods,customer-specific indicia can be printed on one or more printingsurfaces of the secondary package at the cartoning station. In oneexample, the customer-specific indicia is printed on the printingsurface or printing surfaces after the secondary package receives thecontact lens primary package or packages. In another example, thecustomer-specific indicia is printed on the printing surface or surfacesbefore the secondary package receives the contact lens primary packageor packages. For example, the contact lens secondary package may beunassembled when it is printed and prior to placement of the contactlens primary package(s) in the assembled secondary package. As a furtherexample, a tertiary package may be printed in an unassembled state at acartoning station. The printing can also include printing otherinformation on the printing surfaces, as described herein. The resultingprinted secondary packages are ready for packaging and delivery tocustomers without requiring a step of storing the printed secondarypackages in inventory. The printing can be accomplished using any of theprinting device(s) described herein. As one example, the printing deviceincludes a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer.

Thus, it can be appreciated that a method of producing packaged contactlenses can comprise providing a stock product, in which the stockproduct is at least one sealed contact lens package including a contactlens located in a contact lens packaging solution. The stock product isplaced in a contact lens secondary package at a cartoning station. Thecartoning station is configured to assemble an unassembled contact lenssecondary package into an assembled contact lens secondary package. Thecartoning station comprises a labeling station configured to printcustomer-specific indicia directly on a printing surface of the contactlens secondary package, as described herein. The cartoning station alsocomprises other conventional components present in existing cartoningstations, as will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art.The method further comprises providing printed customer-specific indiciaon the printing surface of the contact lens secondary package to producea customer-tailored labeled product, wherein the printedcustomer-specific indicia is printed on the printing surface prior toplacing the stock product in the contact lens secondary package, orafter placing the stock product in the contact lens secondary package,or both. In reference to the figures, the stock product can beunderstood to be one or more sealed contact lens blister packages, asillustrated in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, and as described herein. The contactlens secondary packages of this example of the methods can be understoodto be one or more cartons, as illustrated in FIG. 4 and as describedherein. The cartoning station can be understood to be a component orstation of a contact lens manufacturing line, and for purposes ofillustration, can be represented by a cube-like structure similar to thelabeling station illustrated in FIG. 6.

The foregoing method may further comprise receiving an order from acustomer for an ordered number of customer-tailored labeled products,and preparing at least that number of customer-tailored labeled productsby printing the customer-specific indicia on the printing surface orsurfaces at the cartoning station.

As described herein, the printing may comprise laser printing or ink-jetprinting the customer-specific indicia directly on the printing surfaceof the stock product. A method may comprise a step of curing ink printedon the printing surface by an ink-jet printer, which may be done at thecartoning station. In some examples, the printing is performed with adrop-on-demand ink-jet printing apparatus.

These methods may also comprise treating the printing surface byexposing the printing surface to a corona treatment, a plasma treatment,or a combination thereof, similar to that described above.

If the stock product or the contact lens secondary package includes alot identifier, the method can further comprise verifying the lotidentifier of the stock product, and selecting the customer-specificindicia to be printed on the printing surface based on the lotidentifier information.

If printing is desired on more than one printing surface of the contactlens secondary package, the method can further comprise rotating thecontact lens secondary package to print on the different printingsurfaces.

The method may also comprise a step of verifying that thecustomer-specific indicia printed on the printing surface is correctbased on a customer's order for the customer-tailored labeled product.

As discussed herein, the contact lens secondary package is preferablyfree of an adhesive label containing customer-specific indicia.

Although the disclosure herein refers to certain illustratedembodiments, is to be understood that these embodiments are presented byway of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of the foregoingdetailed description, although discussing exemplary embodiments, is tobe construed to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalentsof the embodiments as may fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the claims.

1. A method of producing packaged contact lenses, comprising: providinga stock product, the stock product comprising a contact lens located ina contact lens packaging solution in a sealed contact lens package, anda printing surface; and directing the stock product to a labelingstation to produce a customer-tailored labeled product comprisingprinted customer-specific indicia directly on the stock product printingsurface.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stock product is a singlesealed contact lens blister package, and the printing surface is anexterior surface of a sealing member disposed over a cavity containingthe contact lens.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stock productcomprises a plurality of sealed contact lens blister packages coupledtogether, and the printing surface is an exterior surface of a sealingmember disposed over each of the contact lens blister packages.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the stock product is an assembled cartoncontaining a plurality of sealed contact lens packages, and the printingsurface is an exterior surface of the carton.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the customer-tailored labeled product is one or more sealedcontact lens blister packages, and the method further comprisessterilizing the customer-tailored labeled product prior to placement ina carton.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating aninventory of a plurality of stock products prior to directing the stockproducts to the labeling station.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving an order from a customer for an ordered number ofcustomer-tailored labeled products, and directing at least that numberof stock products to the labeling station to produce the ordered numberof customer-tailored labeled products.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising laser printing the customer-specific indicia directly on theprinting surface of the stock product.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising ink-jet printing the customer-specific indicia directly onthe printing surface of the stock product.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising a step of curing the ink printed on the printingsurface by an ink-jet printer.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising printing the customer-specific indicia directly on theprinting surface of the stock product with a drop on demand ink-jetprinting apparatus.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtreating the printing surface by exposing the printing surface to acorona treatment, a plasma treatment, or a combination thereof.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the stock product includes a lot identifier,and the method further comprises verifying the lot identifier of thestock product, and selecting the customer-specific indicia to be printedon the printing surface based on the lot identifier information.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising providing contact lensmanufacturer-specific information on the customer-tailored labeledproduct.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the stock product comprisesa plurality of printing surfaces, and the method further comprisesrotating the stock product to print on different printing surfaces. 16.The method of claim 1, wherein the stock product printing surface isfree of an adhesive label containing customer-specific indicia.
 17. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising verifying that thecustomer-specific indicia printed on the printing surface is correctbased on a customer's order for the customer-tailored labeled product.18. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of stock products areprovided, and the stock products are cartons containing a plurality ofsealed contact lens packages containing contact lenses in a contact lenspackaging solution, and the method further comprises: creating aninventory of the plurality of stock products, each of the stock productscontaining the same type of contact lens in each package of the stockproducts; processing an order received from a first customer of contactlenses, the customer being a contact lens retailer, or an eye carepractitioner; printing the customer-specific indicia on the printingsurfaces of the stock products as the stock products pass through thelabeling station, the customer-specific indicia being specific for thefirst customer; packaging the customer-tailored labeled product in atleast one package; shipping the at least one package to the firstcustomer; and repeating the processing, printing, packaging, andshipping steps for at least one additional customer that is a contactlens retailer, wherein the at least one additional customer has orderedthe same contact lens but requires different customer-specific indiciathan the first customer.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein a pluralityof stock products are provided, and the stock products are arrays of aplurality of sealed contact lens packages containing contact lenses in acontact lens packaging solution, and the method further comprises:processing an order received from a first customer of contact lenses,the customer being a contact lens retailer, or an eye care practitioner;printing the customer-specific indicia on the printing surfaces of thestock products as the stock products pass through the labeling station,the customer-specific indicia being specific for the first customer;sterilizing the customer-tailored labeled products; packaging thecustomer-tailored labeled products in at least one carton; packaging theat least one carton in at least one package; and shipping thecustomer-tailored labeled products to the first customer; and repeatingthe processing, printing, packaging, and shipping steps for at least oneadditional customer that is a contact lens retailer, wherein the atleast one additional customer has ordered the same contact lens butrequires different customer-specific indicia than the first customer.20. The method of claim 19, further comprising directing the at leastone carton to a labeling station to produce a customer-tailored productcomprising customer-specific indicia directly on a printing surface ofthe at least one carton, the customer-specific indicia being for thefirst customer.
 21. A method of producing packaged contact lenses,comprising: providing a stock product, the stock product being at leastone sealed contact lens package comprising a contact lens located in acontact lens packaging solution; placing the stock product in a contactlens secondary package at a cartoning station configured to assemble anunassembled contact lens secondary package into an assembled contactlens secondary package, and comprising a labeling station configured toprint customer-specific indicia directly on a printing surface of thecontact lens secondary package; and providing printed customer-specificindicia on the printing surface of the contact lens secondary package toproduce a customer-tailored labeled product, wherein the printedcustomer-specific indicia is printed on the printing surface prior toplacing the stock product in the contact lens secondary package, orafter placing the stock product in the contact lens secondary package,or both.
 22. A contact lens secondary package, comprising: a cartoncomprising at least one sealed contact lens primary package comprisingan unworn contact lens in a contact lens packaging solution, wherein thecarton has a printing surface comprising customer-specific indiciaprinted directly on the printing surface, the customer-specific indiciacomprising UV cured ink provided by a drop-on-demand ink-jet printingsystem.
 23. A system for producing packaged contact lens, comprising: alabeling station, comprising: a stock product infeed portion dimensionedto receive one or more stock products, each stock product comprising acontact lens located in a contact lens packaging solution in a sealedcontact lens package, and a printing surface; a conveyor system operableto direct the stock product from the infeed portion toward an outlet ofthe labeling station; a printing device comprising a drop-on-demand inkjet printer that dispenses UV curable ink onto the printing surface ofthe stock product; and a UV curing system to provide UV radiationexposure to the UV curable ink to provide a customer-tailored labeledproduct comprising customer-specific indicia printed directly on thestock product printing surface.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein theconveyor system is structured to direct a plurality of contact lenssecondary packages through the labeling station.
 25. The system of claim23, wherein the conveyor system is structured to direct a plurality ofcontact lens primary packages through the labeling station.